Promises Can't Always Be Kept
by Tahra
Summary: When Vaughn and Josie fall mysteriously ill, it's up to Z and the rest of the science club to save them. But does Josie want to be saved when the answers are so close? JV Story is set between Friction and Past, contains spoilers for Past, Inquiry and Conc
1. Chapter 1

Title: Promises (can't always be kept)

Author: Tahra Rating: G

Category: J/V

Summary: When Josie and Vaughn fall sick with a mysterious illness it's up to the rest of the science club, and Professor Z, to save them. But does Josie want to be saved?

Disclaimer: BHH does not belong to me. Wish it did, coz then I could have my wicked way with a certain Professor, but it doesn't, so there you go.

Spoilers: Past, Inquiry, Conclusions, with possible others.

Author's note: This story just came to me, having just seen Conclusions (finally), and I felt I had to share. The story is set between Friction and Past, with spoilers for Conclusions. There may be a Sequel, as there are some events that happen in this fic that aren't quite conducive with Past, Inquiry and Conclusions. If there is, it'll probably just be little snippets to explain stuff that was in my fic that wasn't in any of those episodes. So keep an eye open for it.

And also, I now as readers you get this a lot, but please FB. Us writers like to know we're appreciated:D

"So," Josie Trent said, as she matched her stride with that of Vaughn Pearson. "This thing… You know, between you and Corrine? Is it… Over? For good?"

Vaughn looked down at the petite red head, who had an anxious look on her face, though she was trying hard to hide it. Feelings for her bubbled up inside him, as he grinned ironically at her.

"Are you jealous, Trent?" he teased.

"Who, me? No! Of course not, what would make you think that?" she replied hastily, using her hands to emphasize that fact that she was not jealous, not one bit.

"Because if you were…" he said in a sing-song voice.

Josie raised her eyebrows and smirked. "If I was… What?" She folded her hands across her chest and looked up at him. "Well?"

Vaughn bit his lip and scratched his blonde hair. "Nothing," he replied, shying away from the turn in the discussion. "Nothing, I was just… Never mind."

She sighed and looked away, wondering if they were ever going to be completely honest with each other. They'd made a pact a long time ago, to share everything, but that hadn't meant feelings, and Josie was just dying to know how Vaughn really felt about her.

The pair were walking on the outskirts of the school grounds listening to all the activity going on up at the school. As it was a Saturday, and it being a gorgeous day, everyone was outside hanging out with their friends, or playing tennis.

"Anyway, back to my original question," Josie said. "Is this whole thing over? Because for a while there you would have needed a knife to cut the tension between you."

Vaughn nodded. "Yea, it's over. All I wanted to know was why she'd lied to me. And of course, now I know, she never was. My mom erased her memory. I just wish I knew why. Why would she do that? What was she trying to stop us from finding out?"

Josie laid her hand on Vaughn's arm, in a comforting gesture. "I don't know Vaughn. I don't have the answers. But I know how you feel." She looked down at her feet helplessly, knowing Vaughn was hurting, but not knowing how to help him.

"I know you don't Josie. It's cool. I just wish someone did have the answers."

They continued to walk around the school together, chatting lightly about school, friends, the science club, music.

"So then Marshall said…"

Vaughn stopped mid-sentence and looked down at Josie. She had one hand on his arm, the other on her stomach, and had stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong Josie?" Vaughn asked, with a worried note in his voice.

She grimaced as if she were in pain. "I don't know… I just feel…" She put her hand to her mouth. "Queasy… I don't feel right, Vaughn."

"Let's get you back to the school," he replied, watching her swallow hard.

Josie nodded silently. Vaughn grabbed her around the waist, to hold her up, and started to walk back towards the school. She moaned slightly and moved one hand up to her forehead, to shield her eyes from the sun.

"I'm feeling really dizzy, Vaughn," Josie said weakly. "Everything keeps spinning."

Suddenly Josie slipped out of Vaughn's arms. He made a frantic grab for her, but she slid from his grasp to the ground. Her eyes were closed; her breath came in ragged, shallow gasps, her face a pale white. Vaughn crouched next to the unconscious girl and shook her by the shoulder.

"Josie? Josie… Come on, you're freaking me out here. Wake up!"

Josie lay still on the ground.

Frantically, Vaughn stood up and looked around him, searching for any sign of people. There was no one around.

"Come on Josie!"

He grabbed her under the shoulders, and started to pick her up. But even though he was a football player, and she was petite, he couldn't quite pick her up properly. Half dragging her, half carrying, he made his way closer to the school. Head bent, he walked, trying not to stumble over the various broken branches on the ground.

Vaughn looked up in time to see Professor Z crossing the lawn. He was walking away from Josie and Vaughn, his back turned to them.

"Professor Z!" Vaughn called out.

Z stopped and turned towards them. When he saw Vaughn holding an unconscious Josie, he raced down to meet them, his heart pounding. He'd never admit it to anyone, but Josie was one of his favorite pupils, because of the weird Father/Daughter bond they had.

"What happened?" he asked Vaughn, the tone of his voice slightly panicked.

Vaughn shook his head, as Z began to pick Josie up in his arms. "I don't know, Professor," he replied, his hands outstretched. "One minute she was fine, the next she was complaining that she didn't feel too well, and then she collapsed on the ground. I tried to pick her up, but…"

"Okay," Z said, beginning to walk to the school with Josie. "We need to get her to the nurse."

Vaughn grabbed Z by the arm and turned him around. "But what if this is, like, connected to the Black Hole? Should we go to the nurse? There might be nothing she can do for Josie. Besides, Josie could wake up at any minute, couldn't she?"

Z stood still, trying to figure out the best solution. "Okay. We go to her room, and hope that she wakes up. If not, I insist on taking her to the school nurse," he compromised.

Vaughn nodded, and the pair started walking back up to the school.


	2. Chapter 2

"Her breathing's getting worse," Z muttered to himself, his fingers resting lightly against Josie's throat, taking her pulse. He turned back to the worried kids in the room.

Josie lay on her bed, her head lying to one side, a look of pain on her face. Vaughn sat next to her on the bed, holding her hand. The rest of the science club were anxiously positioned around the room, Corrine and Marshall on Corrine's bed, Lucas on Josie's desk. All four of them looked up at their professor's anxious face.

"So what do we do?" Lucas asked after a moment. He jumped down from the desk. "There has to be something we can do to help her." He looked despairingly around at the others.

"Aside from a cold compress to quell her fever," Z noted, "there doesn't seem to be a whole lot we can do, but wait it out. You've all decided not to go to the nurse for the time being, so there's not a whole lot we can do."

Lucas looked down at his hands in disappointment, while Corrine leaped off the bed, eager for something to do. She disappeared for a moment, into the bathroom she shared with Josie, and returned with a cold, damp washcloth. Corrine hated the feeling of helplessness of the situation; she was used to feeling in charge.

She handed the washcloth to Z, who folded it and laid it over Josie hot forehead, stroking back her hair.

Vaughn stood, dropping Josie's limp hand on the bed, and started to pace.

"I agree with Lucas," he said, barely glancing at the boy who he was so rarely in agreement with. "There has to be something we can do. We can just sit around here watching Josie get worse. We can't!"

Z sat in the spot Vaughn had just vacated, and shook his head. "I'm sorry. But either we get her to a doctor, or we just have to wait. That's all we can do."

Vaughn dropped his head into his hands, and then grimaced with pain. "Um… I don't know whether this would be the right time to mention it or not, but I'm not feeling so good."

Z looked at him in concern. "How so, Vaughn?" he asked, standing to place his hand on Vaughn's shoulder.

Lucas immediately slipped into Z's spot, and latched on to Josie's clammy hand.

"Just feeling kinda… queasy, like I could… you know. And I've got a bit of a headache." He moved one hand up, an imitation of Josie earlier, to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Sit down for moment," Z said, guiding Vaughn to Corrine's bed.

Marshall and Corrine hopped of the bed, to make room for Vaughn, who sat down. Z laid his hand against Vaughn's forehead.

"You've got a bit of a fever," he remarked.

Vaughn lay back against Corrine's pillows. "Can someone make the room stop spinning, please?"

He gasped slightly as realization hit him. "Z," he said weakly. "Josie was feeling the same way just before she passed out."

Z looked down at his student in concern, as Vaughn's eyes slipped shut. He shook Vaughn slightly, but realized at once that his actions were futile.

"What did he just say Z?" Lucas asked.

Z started to pace, one hand behind his back, the other on his chin. "Vaughn just said that Josie felt the same way as he did, just before she passed out. If Vaughn's got the same symptoms, it means he's got the same illness. I found Vaughn and Josie about 10 minutes after she passed out, which means it's now been half an hour. So, if this thing is contagious, I'll come down with it in another half an hour."

He stopped pacing, turned to his students, and clapped his hands. "Which means, if I come down with the same illness, all of you will. We've all been exposed. So I would like you Corrine," he pointed at her, "to go downstairs and call for a doctor."

Marshall looked at Z, and put one hand out to stop Corrine, as she started to stand up.

"Professor, shouldn't we look at this scientifically?" he asked. "If we call for a doctor, and you don't end up displaying the same symptoms as Josie and Vaughn, won't that look weird? As you said, we've all been exposed to this, we may all come down with it. But… But if you don't, and you've been exposed longer, then we know that we're dealing with something that's only affecting them two, and that means we're dealing with something to do with the Black Hole."

"Marshall! Are you out of your mind?" Corrine said angrily. "Vaughn and Josie are sick, possibly dying, and you want to do a little experiment with their lives? With Z's life? With our lives? Are demented? If we wait, then call a doctor, we'll look suspicious."

"No Corrine," Z replied. "Marshall has a good point. The only way to be sure of anything is to gather data. And this is just another way of gathering data, isn't it Marshall? Better to be sure then raise curiosity about what's really being going on in this school."

Lucas shook his head. "So now what, we just wait and hope that Josie doesn't get worse, that you don't come down with this?"

Z turned to Lucas. "Exactly. If we wait, and I don't get sick, as Marshall said, we'll know that we're dealing with the Black Hole. Which means we have a chance to fix whatever's happened, without anyone knowing about it."

"Or you could die," Corrine replied.

"It's a risk," Z admitted. "But it's a risk we're just going to have to take."

At that moment Josie moaned and tossed her head. Lucas moved back to the bed to take her hand. Corrine moved out to Vaughn, and felt against his forehead, before going to fetch another washcloth.

"No…" Josie moaned.

Z stood next to her and started to stroke her forehead. "It's all right Josie; it's going to be fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Lying still, Josie became aware of a strange light, glowing in the darkness. As she began to gain consciousness, her awareness of her surrounding's become more acute. More than just the light, there was the firm coldness of concrete underneath her back, a dull humming came from all around her.

Slowly she opened her eyes, wincing as the bright light pierced them. Blinking several times, the room started to come into focus.

Hard, stark white walls circled her, as she turned around.

'Not a room,' she thought to herself. 'A hallway. Where am I? Where does it lead?'

Taking soft steps, careful not to attract any attention to herself, she began her way down the long hallway. Doors to her left and right draw her to look inside them, but each room was empty.

Apart from the dulling humming of the lights, which Josie was barely paying attention to; she could hear no other sounds. It felt as though she'd been cut off from the rest of the world, like she was the person on the earth.

Fighting down the welling panic, Josie continued down various hallways as cautiously as she could.

A half an hour later, she was still trying to figure out where she was, and whether she was going round in circles or not, when there was a small commotion to her left. She opened the door, and peered in to the dark room. She entered it, searching for a light switch.

"Josie?"

The voice came from behind her suddenly, and she jumped.

"Vaughn?" she asked. "Is that you?"

An arm grabbed her, and pulled her out in to the hallway.

"It is you!" she cried. She pulled him into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

Vaughn pulled away from her, and grabbed her arms. "I could ask the same thing about you," he replied. "Besides, where is 'here'?"

Josie shook her head. "I have no idea… I've been walking around for about a half an hour, trying to figure that same thing out."

Something was nagging at the back of Vaughn's mind, but because he couldn't remember what it was, he brushed it aside.

"Well," he grinned. "Let's go exploring."

He put his arm for Josie to take, and then they started off down the hallway together.

Turning down various hallways, they peeked into rooms and kept their eyes peeled for any sign of human life, but there was none. They turned into another hallway, and suddenly they heard voices.

Cautiously they crept towards the room, and peered in. There were various scientific instruments lying around the room, with several people staring at a holographic screen that was somehow being projected into the middle of the room.

A man in a white coat went up to the screen and started to touch various squares. A picture began to take shape, a picture of Blake Holsey High, of the wormhole, of Josie, Vaughn, Z, Lucas, Corrine and Marshall.

Josie gasped, and pulled away from the door. Vaughn followed her after a moment, and they continued down the hallway.

"You don't think this is… Pearadyne, do you?" she asked.

Vaughn shook his head. "How could it be? You've been inside Pearadyne, it's not this clean, and half of it's in rubble. Besides this is too big."

"I think Pearadyne's a lot larger than you think it is Vaughn. Look at how long it took us to get half way to the topside of it from school. It took forever…"

"Well, we did have some problems along the way Josie, like all the magnetic interference," Vaughn said, interrupting her.

"I know that, but even without all of that, it would have taken a while to get there. And yet we know that there was once an entrance from the school basement into Pearadyne Labs. So it's a really big place. And maybe this is before the accident?"

"What, like we traveled through time again? But I don't even remember how I got here," he replied.

Josie sighed. "Okay, neither do I. But I'm sure it could happen right? Like when Corrine went through the black hole and your mother wiped her memory about it. Maybe that's what's happened here?"

"And why would my mother wipe my memory Josie?" he asked impatiently.

"I don't know Vaughn! Why would she wipe Corrine's memory?" Josie replied, exasperated. "Didn't we all ready have this conversation today?"

Vaughn looked at her with a frown. "We did, didn't we?"

"That's what I just said!" Josie groaned.

"We had this conversation, about my mom wiping Corrine's memory, and we were walking around the school. And what happened next?" he asked the frustrated red-head.

"I don't know! Why is this even relevant?"

"Think about it Josie. You don't remember how you got here, and neither do it… The last thing I remember was being…" Vaughn's eyes opened wide. "In your room."

Josie looked at him, startled. "Why were you in my room? Where was I?"

Vaughn grabbed Josie by the shoulder. "What's the last thing you remember Josie?" he asked urgently, shaking her slightly.

"I… I… I don't know?" She lifted her hands slightly, arms spread out, palms up. She frowned. "Like I said, why is this important?"

"Because I don't think we're actually in Pearadyne Labs," he replied.

Her expression changed to one of confusion. "What do you mean? Where else would we be?"

"I don't know. But I don't think we're actually here."

"Okay, Vaughn, whatever you've taken today, I really think you need to stop. Because you're sounding really crazy, you realize that right? Totally and utterly crazy."

But Vaughn wasn't listening to her. He grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her into a room.

"Shhhh… I think someone's coming."

Josie stood still, her back against Vaughn's chest. She had to admit, even in such uncomfortable circumstances, it was nice to have Vaughn with her, and it was nice to be leaning against his chest.

But the door opened to the room they were and the lights came on, and all thoughts of Vaughn flew out of Josie's head, as Victor Pearson walked into the room.

"Hurry up you two," he called behind.

Josie and Vaughn pushed themselves further back behind the door, trying to avoid detection.

"We're coming Victor… You might want to watch that tone though," a familiar voice said. "Just remember who owns Pearadyne Labs now."

Josie looked up at Vaughn in shock, as an older version of herself walked in through the door, followed closely by an older version of Vaughn.

'What is going on here?' Josie wondered. 'Why am I talking to Victor like that?'


	4. Chapter 4

"See Corrine, Z's fine. I told you that whatever we were dealing with was to do with the black hole."

Corrine was seething. "You didn't know that though Marshall. You were taking a risk on you being possibly right, you got lucky!" She moved forward as if to hit him.

"All right you two, break it up," Z said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Corrine, relax. I'm fine, and now that we know we're dealing with the black hole, I'm sure we can come up with some solution to help both Vaughn and Josie. They're going to be fine."

"We'll figure it out Corrine, I promise," Marshall said, laying a hand softly on her shoulder.

Z let her go, and she turned to Marshall. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just really freaked out right now. I hate not being able to be in control."

"I know," he replied, pulling her into a hug.

"Um, guys… I hate to break up the little love fest and all, but Josie's getting worse."

Corrine, Marshall and Z, turned to Lucas, who was still sitting on Josie's bed. The three of them moved as one to her bedside, Corinne and Marshall standing right behind Lucas, while Z began to examine her.

"Her breathing is really shallow," he said.

"And quieter," Lucas replied. "As if she's…"

"… Dying?" Corrine asked.

Z placed his fingers on Josie's throat, checking for a pulse. "Her pulse is much weaker. I… I don't know what to do guys," he said, turning to face his worried students. "I think we're going to have to call someone… Or she might die."

Corrine pulled away from Marshall, and began busying herself checking on Vaughn. "He's getting weaker," she said, her voice cracking.

She turned angrily on Z and Marshall. "They're dying, and it's all your guy's fault for not going to a doctor in the first place! I can't believe this! I can't believe they're going to die. We have to do something. Now!"

Corrine started to shake her hands and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She burst into tears, her breath ragged as she sobbed into her hands. "I don't want them to die," she whispered.

The three males stood helplessly watching her, trying not to break down at the thought of their friends dying.

Lucas dropped his head into his hands. His heart was breaking in two at the thought of Josie dying, and the thought that he would never be able to tell her how he really felt about her. He was sure she knew, even though he'd worked so hard at trying to hard it, but he knew deep down that she must have known. And now he'd never get the chance to say what needed to be said.

And even the thought of Vaughn dying saddened him. Sure they had never really gotten along, he'd never really trusted the football player, but there were moments when they'd gotten along. Like when they'd swapped bodies, and he'd realized just how hard things could be for Vaughn. Lucas wanted to apologize, but realized he may never have the chance.

Z knew that his life would be over if Josie and Vaughn died. Not just because he knew his career would be over, and that he'd probably be sued for Gross Negligence, but because the thought of never seeing Josie's smile or Vaughn score the winning touchdown would break his heart.

He couldn't believe that he could have been so stupid as to put their lives in danger, just because they didn't want any suspicion on them about what was really going on here. Just because he didn't want the school shut down, or reporters turning up from everywhere, he'd risked the lives of two of his students, the life of one of the people he cared for the most in the world… The person he thought of as a daughter.

Corrine couldn't believe the thought that she could be loosing her best friend in the world. The pain was too much to bear. She rushed into Marshall's arms, trying to find solace, find a way to get rid of the pain and the weight on her heart.

Even Marshall couldn't keep his tears in check, as he held Corrine, and started to cry into her hair. He'd always been slightly afraid of both Vaughn and Josie, but he liked them as well. They were good mates, always there for him, always helping him out of some tight spot he'd gotten himself into.

And now they were dying, and there was nothing any of them could do to help them.


	5. Chapter 5

"So Victor, what's so important that you had to drag us away from our Honeymoon for?" Josie asked.

"Yea Dad," Vaughn echoed. "Couldn't this have waited till we were back from New Zealand? We were having a good time down there."

"It was extremely important that I talk to you both, in person. And no, it couldn't have waited. You remember the Qi Gong ball?"

The older Josie snorted. "How could I have forgotten Victor? Don't you remember who you stole it from in the first place?" she asked derisively.

"Yes, yes, yes," Victor replied impatiently. "Well…"

Josie felt a tugging on her arm. She looked back at Vaughn, who was trying to pull her towards the open doorway. She shook her head, gesturing that she wanted to stay and watch, but Vaughn pulled her away.

As they got out into the hallway, she sighed impatiently. "What was so important that you had to pull me away from that?" she asked. "It was getting really interesting."

"Look… You obviously don't remember what happened earlier on today, or else you'd be a little more anxious about our situation," Vaughn replied.

"Are we back to this again?"

Vaughn clenched his hands and smiled tightly as he dragged her further away from the room they'd just been in. "This is important Josie."

"So is this," she replied. "We've got the chance to finally figure out some of what's been going on around school, and you want to ruin it by talking?"

Vaughn placed his hand against her mouth. "Be quiet. This is a whole lot more important. Today, what can you remember?"

"I already told you, I can't remember. Then you replied that you thought we weren't at Pearadyne Labs, which you've been proved wrong."

"We're not at Pearadyne Labs, at least not the labs we know."

"That's because this is the future, Vaughn. You heard what I… she… I told Victor. We're married, and we run Pearadyne now."

Impatiently Vaughn shook his head. "I know this Josie, but we're not really here. You collapsed today Josie, you were sick. Z and I got you to your room, and then I came down sick. So none of this can be real!"

"Are you saying we're having some kind of joint hallucination Vaughn?"

He moved away helplessly. "I don't know Josie. I just know that something really strange is going on here. Stranger than normal."

He suddenly grimaced in pain. Josie laid a hand on his arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"It's happening again."

"What's happening again? I don't understand?"

"It's like earlier, when I felt sick, after you'd collapsed… I'm really not feeling too well."

He slumped against the wall, and slid to the ground, the walls spinning round and round. Josie knelt next to him, worried, trying to think of something to say when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Josie!" Vaughn cried out. "Look out!"

And all of a sudden, he disappeared, leaving Josie with the mysterious stranger.


	6. Chapter 6

Vaughn groaned, feeling slightly ill. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see Corrine, Z, Marshall and Lucas staring down at him.

"Guys?" he mumbled.

Z looked at him, worry showing in his eyes. "Vaughn, are you alright?"

Vaughn pushed himself up on the pillows, and looked around the concerned group. "I feel… Fine. I feel really good." His gaze moved over to the opposite side of the room, where Josie lay still on her bed. "How is she?" he asked hurriedly.

Lucas moved away from the bed, towards the wall, he couldn't look at Vaughn.

Z sighed, and rubbed his face. "She's getting worse Vaughn, and we don't know what to do."

"What are saying?"

"We think… We think she's dying Vaughn," Lucas replied coldly. "She's dying, and there's not a thing we can do to stop it from happening."

"No!" Vaughn cried out in frustration. "She can't be dying. I was just talking to her, we were talking, and I felt sick, and then someone grabbed her… No!"

"What are you talking about Vaughn?" Marshall asked. "You've been lying here out cold, just like Josie has for the past hour or so."

Vaughn scratched the back of his head and swung his legs of the side of the bed. "No… Josie and I, we were in Pearadyne… We were in the future. We saw how things are going to work out. It's weird, but I know it's going to happen that way."

He stood up and walked over to Josie's bed. Sitting down, he picked up her hand and turned to the others.

"Vaughn, can you please explain what you saw?" Z asked. "Maybe we can find some way to help Josie with any information you can give us."

Vaughn nodded. "Okay, when I came to I was in a room, and Josie walked in. She said she'd been wandering around for ages, but there was no sign of life. We started exploring; we were in a long, stark white hallway. We eventually saw people; they were working on some kind of experiment, something to do with us, the school, and the worm hole. We continued exploring when I heard voices, so I pulled Josie into a room to hide."

He paused for a moment, to recollect what had happened to them. The others waited with growing impatience.

"My dad walked into the room, telling two people to hurry up. It was Josie and I… We were older, about 25? And Josie said something about how we ran the place, and how dad couldn't boss us around anymore… And then we complained about being pulled away from our… Honeymoon."

He glanced up at Lucas, who stoically looked away, refusing to meet Vaughn's gaze.

"That's when I pulled Josie from the room. Not too long after I felt sick again. Josie has no memory of what happened today, she has no idea she's sick, she couldn't remember. I don't know why. But somebody grabbed her from behind, just as I came back. And she's in trouble back there. Deep trouble. But obviously it's all going to work out, because I know what I saw was true."

Z had started to pace, while Vaughn had been telling his story. Theories flew through the professor's head.

"Obviously, somehow, in your sickened state, you slipped through time. Now what you saw may or may not come true Vaughn. You have to remember that there a multiple dimensions and timelines out there. You could have been in any one of them… Or you could be right. We could save Josie somehow, and that's way things may work out. I don't know. But I still wouldn't trust it Vaughn. Just because you know something, doesn't mean it'll work out that way. I'm sorry, but we're still going to have to find some way of saving Josie."

He turned to Corrine. "Now you've been researching on the internet Corrine, I know you've found a lot of information. What can you tell us?"

"Many illness's came up with the same symptoms, Professor… Food Poisoning, but that doesn't explain us not getting it, certain types of cancer, but there would have been symptoms much earlier. Viruses, poisoning, biological weapons… Even the flu. They're all common symptoms. Some lead to death, some don't. There's not a whole lot I can tell you, I'm sorry."

Corrine looked really downhearted. "There was just nothing that could explain. Every illness was dependent on something else, which couldn't be in Josie's case, or there were other symptoms, symptoms that neither Vaughn nor Josie have displayed."

"So basically, what you're telling us is, you have no idea what it is or how it can be treated. And now all we can do is sit and wait, right?" Lucas asked, his voice not betraying the pain he was feeling inside.

Corrine nodded. "Pretty much. I'm so sorry guys!"

She turned and ran from the room in tears. Marshall shrugged apologetically, and ran after her.

"And then there were 3," Lucas said sarcastically.

"Not helping, Lucas," Z replied.

Vaughn sighed and turned back to Josie. "Um… Professor… I don't think Josie's breathing you guys!"

Z and Lucas rushed to the bed. Z bent down with one ear to listen for any signs of breathing, before checking her pulse with two fingers

"She's not breathing. She's got a pulse, it's really weak though. We're going to have to do CPR."

Both Lucas and Vaughn eyed each other up, and then shrugged.

"Sorry Professor. Don't know how to."

"Neither."

Both boys dropped their head in shame, feeling so bad that that they were unable to help their friend.

Z pushed both the boys out of the way, and dragged Josie to the floor, where he started to clear her airway, and began CPR, as Lucas ran from the room.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who are you?" Josie cried out.

The arm released her. "It doesn't matter who I am Josie. The only thing that matters is you. You and your choices in the future."

Josie stood up to confront the man before her. He was tall, slightly balding, and she had the vague sense that she knew him from somewhere but couldn't place him.

"What are you talking about? Where's Vaughn?"

"Vaughn was never supposed to be here… I didn't factor him… I forgot about his genetic makeup, how he's connected to you. He's not strong enough to handle the truth yet, which is why he was pulled back."

"Pulled back? Pulled back to where?"

"My, but you do ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Look, can you just tell me what's going on?" Josie asked impatiently.

"Follow me."

The man began to walk away, with long strides. Josie had to run to catch up. She recognized almost instantly where they were going. Back to the room that she and Vaughn had hid in, the room with Josie and Vaughn and Victor.

Josie caught the mystery man's arm. "I can't go in there… What if they see me?"

He caught her arm, and pulled her into the room, but none of the occupants noticed them. They continued to talk amongst themselves, something about limitless power, and Josie Qi Gong ball.

"They can't see you Josie, you're all right." He nodded in the direction of her future self, and the two men. "Now, down to business…"

And suddenly Josie could see Pearadyne industries before her. She could see into every room, see every occupant, see how vast Pearadyne actually was. But Josie knew she hadn't moved a step.

"What is all this?" she asked curiously.

The mysterious man tapped her on the side of the head. "You know what all this is."

"It's Pearadyne, isn't it? It's Pearadyne in the future."

"That's right. And all of it could be yours. If you make the right choice."

Josie turned away from the spectacular sight of Pearadyne laid out before her, and suddenly she was back in the room with Victor, herself and Vaughn. "What do you mean, right choice?"

"That's you standing there… The you you should be. The you you can be. But only if you make the choice. She did. And now she owns all of Pearadyne, along with Vaughn."

"Is choosing between Lucas and Vaughn the choice I have to make? Because if it is, I can tell you right now that I'm not going to choose!"

"No," he replied impatiently. "That's not the choice. It's only a tiny part. You could end up owning Pearadyne whether you're with Vaughn or Lucas. The choice is all about you. At some point in your life, you will come to a crossroads, and when you do, you'll know that you have to make a choice… And now you know what one of the endings of that choice could be. The other could be this."

He swept his arms out wide, and turned around. When he turned back to Josie, she looked around, and all she could see was smoke, dust and rubble.

"So, to recap… You could have it all, or you could have nothing Josie. It's your choice. Just promise that when the time comes, you'll make the right one."

Josie shook her head. "Okay, I get all that, but where do you fit in, and you still haven't told me where Vaughn is! Or why he wasn't 'factored' into your plan. What was your plan?"

"Vaughn is safe Josie, he's back at school, with your professor and the rest of your friends. My plan was to get you here alone. To do that I needed you to be sick, really sick. As in dying, so you'd be open to the experience. I transmitted a disease from the future into a bug, which then stung you. Which is why none of your friends have been able to heal you. As for me, let's just say I'm a concerned friend and leave it at that."

"Let's not. You're just as cryptic as the Janitor, and I'm getting seriously annoyed. No one wants to answer all my questions. You make me sick, you take me away from friends… How can you be a 'concerned friend', as you so eloquently put it?"

"You'll find out in time Josie." He laid his hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Just promise me that when the time comes, you'll make the right decision. Promise me Josie."

Feeling creeped out, she replied, "I promise." Then she shrugged his hands off her shoulders. A sudden pain attacked her stomach. She doubled over and gasped in shock. "What's going on?" she cried out.

"It's time for you to go back."

"But I want the answers," she cried, slumping against the wall, in pain. She was being blinded by her headache.

"It's not time."

"Make it time… I want more time to have my answers! I need more time!"

"You do need more time…"

She disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

"Professor, we're loosing her!" Vaughn cried out.

"Not yet we haven't," Z replied, still pumping Josie's chest. "And we're not about to either!"

Lucas came flying back into the room, Corrine and Marshall right behind him. The door slammed, and Z jumped back in shock at that noise.

They all stared down at Josie, who wasn't moving, no breath issuing forth from her petite frame.

And then a gasp. A breath was inhaled. The room breathed a collective sigh of relief as Josie coughed and her eyes began to flutter open.

Z and Vaughn helped her into a sitting position, and then Z picked her up and laid her down on her bed. Leaning against the pillows, she glanced around her friends, whose faces shone with concern.

"What happened?" she asked. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Z sighed happily. "Good to have you back with us Josie," he replied, patting her on the arm.

He moved away from the bed, and Corrine launched herself at Josie. Josie coughed slightly at the unexpected bear hug, but she laughed.

"Okay, Corrine… I need to breathe now!"

Corrine pulled away hurriedly. "Oh my gosh Josie, I'm so sorry."

"Wow, what is up with you guys, you're all in such a weird mood right now!"

"Maybe one of you should explain," Z said, looking around the group.

Suddenly there was an absolute gaggle of voices, as everyone tried to tell the story all at once. Josie threw up arms in mock frustration.

"One at a time guys! I only have one set of ears."


	9. Epilogue

Avenir moved away from the smoking ruins of Pearadyne, and turned around, where mysteriously Blake Holsey High stood, all of a sudden.

He smiled as he looked through one of the top story windows, where Josie, Z and the rest of the science club were talking.

"You'll do your old man proud, Josie," he said, before turning around and walking away.

If anyone had been watching, they would have sworn that one moment he was there, and the next he wasn't.

Josie 2 stood looking out the window of the basement, watching Avenir leave. Without turning she started to speak to the Janitor, who was standing right behind her.

"It's beginning, isn't it? The beginning of the end."

The Janitor just nodded.

The End.


End file.
